On The Fly: Sox Send Bradley To Pawtucket

The Red Sox finally did what many thought should have been done long ago: they demoted center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to Triple-A Pawtucket. Traveling down I-95, he probably passed Mookie Betts, who was recalled to Boston. Betts started in center field against the Angels Monday night.

Bradley's woes at the plate were plentiful. He batted .216 with one homer and 111 strikeouts. His .290 slugging percentage is the lowest among all major leaguers with enough at-bats (a minimum of 300) to qualify for the batting title. In the field, his defense was Gold-Glove caliber, which delayed his demotion. But the starting center fielder, who plays half his games in a hitting haven like Fenway Park, must hit with power or have a respectable batting average. Bradley did neither. The Red Sox hope he finds a major-league hitting stroke with the PawSox. Otherwise, Betts, Brock Holt or someone else — who can hit — will be Boston's center fielder next year.

Javier Baez hit a two-run homer in a 4-1 Cubs win. Mets starter Carlos Torres started, for the first time since Sept. 27, as a replacement for Bartolo Colon, who was in the Dominican Republic to be with his ailing mother. Colon's winter ball team, the Cibao Eagles, confirmed later Monday that Colon's mother had died.

The starting quarterback suspense is over at UConn. Casey Cochran is the man.

This was not what the U.S. Open tennis championship wanted to hear about its defending men's singles champion. Rafael Nadal withdrew because of an injured right wrist. He hurt it July 29 while practicing. Doctors told him to wear a cast on his wrist for two to three weeks, and that he would have to sit out U.S. Open tune-up tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati. He did, but the wrist did not improve enough. But he plays left-handed, so how can an injured right wrist be that important? One of his best shots is his two-handed backhand, powered by two healthy wrists and arms.

The World Cup was a colossal disappointment for host nation Brazil. Still, we remember the wonderful skills and flair of Neymar. But that ended when he fractured a vertebra in a quarterfinal against Colombia. Monday he was back on the pitch for the first time since he was injured, scored twice and had an assist for Barcelona in a friendly match against Leon.

Congratulations to New Britain High School baseball coach Roberto Mercado, who had a wonderful summer on Cape Cod. He was an assistant coach for Yarmouth-Dennis, which just won the Cape Cod League Baseball Championship over Falmouth.